and the adventure continues...

so our bikes are gone and we have joined the masses of travelers that take to exploring this country (the size of Nevada) by bus. Clutching our Lonely Planet book and comparing notes with other backpackers, we find the best deals and the must see places. that being said, we have found ourselves in a variety of places in the last week.


At the Otavalo market

first, we visited otavalo, a town up in the mountains, a few hours from colombia, most well known for it´s indigenous market. after a night of camping, and lots of mate overlooking the stunning, lush mountainside, we descended into the town to explore the market. if you have never experienced an open air market, i suggest that you make it a priority in your lifetime! it is one of luke and my favorite experiences in latin america. the otavalo market is a strange juxtaposition of indigenous culture and the present day. women and men, all dressed in their traditional attire lug their crops, artesania, and anything else, hoping to sell it during that day, so that their load will be lighter on their trek home. tourist mill about (easily identified by the large camera hung from their neck) hoping to find something ´original´ to take home with them as a souvenir from their trip. little do they know that millions of other visitors to ecuador carry home that same hammock, wool socks, earrings, etc. since luke and i will be travelling for quite awhile, we managed to avoid buying any trinkets. we did however enjoy the food market. fruits, vegetables, grains, rice, you name it and it´s for sale. you could wander the streets for hours and that is exactly what we did!

from the northern highlands of otavalo, we headed south of quito to the town of latacunga, the jumping off point for our trip up, up, up into the mountains in search of the quilotoa crater and the lake it contains. the bus ride up was windy, and we caught a glimpse of the volcano cotopaxi (stunning, especially since it had previously been hiding behind clouds). finally we arrived at our long awaited destination. for all of you oregonians, just think crater lake. for everyone else, think about the most impressive sight of nature you´ve seen and this lake was comparable. where once stood the tip of a volcano now lies only the crater and the water that has filled it in to form a lake. indigenous families vie for our business, offering us hats knit from llama and alpaca wool and a room to stay for the night. it´s disheartening to know that we will probably be their only source of income for the day, as tourism is slow right now. the lake was definitely a place to sit and contemplate God´s majesty!


Laguna Quilotoa- Ecuador´s crater lake

we left the solace and solitude of the lake for the most popular tourist town in ecaudor- BAÑOS. it´s most popular for it´s thermal hot springs that are poured into two pools, situated near a waterfall at the end of town. one is tepid and the other is nearly too hot to touch. we were the only foreigners there when we went. nice, but we were definitely spoiled by our time at papallacta and the hot springs there. along with the hot tubs, baños is also a hot spot for outdoorsy adventures, such as mountain biking, rafting, bridge jumping and the like. luke and i tried our hands at biking (surprised?). we rented mountain bikes and rode 60km to the town of puyo, the gateway to the jungle. the route we took was called the ¨ruta de las cascadas¨ (route of the waterfalls). it was impressive! comparable to the columbia river gorge, there was not a shortage of waterfalls along the way. the most incredible was the ¨pailon del diablo¨. we were soaked! but dried quickly on our bike ride. it felt great to be back on bikes, if only for a day! after that, we were ready to escape the hip cafes and all the tourists that we saw in baños and head for a slower, quieter pace of life at the BEACH!

Baños Hot springs

the quickest route to the coast took us through Guayaquil, Ecuador´s biggest city. a loud, dirty and busy city, we were happy to leave after one night. and now we find ourselves in the sleepy town of Puerto Lopez. Blue fishing boats bob off the shore and people just seem to walk slower here. we are definitely enjoying taking it easy here and taking the time to enjoy the small things we are often so busy in our lives at home to notice.

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